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Discussion Simple question: what is the best Metroid game? Why?

What is your favorite Metroid game?

  • Metroid

  • Metroid II: Return of Samus

  • Super Metroid

  • Metroid Prime

  • Metroid Fusion

  • Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

  • Metroid Prime Hunters

  • Metroid Zero Mission

  • Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

  • Metroid: Other M

  • Metroid Prime Federation Force

  • Metroid: Samus Returns

  • Metroid Dread

Results are only viewable after voting.
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Almost 40 years old, and still kicking strong, against all odds. We live in an age of Metroid resurgence, and, hopefully, on the cusp of the series being primed for a new breakout.

In these 40 years, the series has had an almost unbroken streak of excellence. There are some... obvious missteps, and I think those will get their due discussion in this thread, but those aside, what a stretch of excellence.

What do you pick as your favorite? Do you prefer the eerie foundation of the NES original? Do you prefer the quiet contemplation on intergalactic genocide that was the original Metroidf II? Did Super Metroid, the game so incredible and format that it literally created an entire genre in its image, endear itself to you? Did Metroid Prime's incredible commitment to immersing you in its immaculate world stick with you the most? Was it Metroid Fusion's fantastic emphasis on horror and atmosphere? Was it Metroid Prime 2's challenging spin on Prime's 3D Metroidvania progression? Was it Hunters' multiplayer mode? Was it Corruption's excellent motion controls? Zero Mission's peak execution of 2D Metroid design? Other M's first steps towards the more action oriented nature the 2D saga would go on to take? Federation Force's Blast Ball mode? Samus Returns being the forebear to the greatness that Dread would achieve? Or the greatness that Dread did achieve, heralding the glorious return to form for the franchise?

What Metroid game reigns supreme for you, personally?
 
It’s either Prime 1 or 2.

1 for just being pretty much a perfect game with an amazing atmosphere and perfectly translating Super Metroid in 3D

or 2 for going new places lore-wise, upping the complexity in design and difficulty and fully committing to a dark and oppressive atmosphere
 
I don't even fucking know. That's how great this franchise is. I'll just say that right now, I feel like Super Metroid, Metroid Prime, and yes, Metroid Dread, are the best in their own separate ways.

Zero Mission might dethrone one of those though.
 
Metroid Prime Remastered followed by Super Metroid, Samus Returns. I'm looking forward to playing Zero Mission on NSO.
 
I think objectively it's Super Metroid. But this debate feels very similar to the ALTTP/OOT/BOTW debate in that there really is no objective answer, and the time period in which you experienced each game is gonna be the most important aspect to your answer.

Shout out to Zero Mission though - one of my personal favourites, and arguably one of the most re playable games of all time!
 
My Metroid experience is limited to the 2D games (sans Metroid II) along with Prime 1. After playing Prime and Dread back to back, my vote goes to Dread.

While I love the slower methodical pace of Prime, the backtracking is absolutely killer at times. Just getting from point A to point B is needlessly complicated, and leads to a ton of time spent traversing the same locations over and over again. Add in the middling combat, and it falls just short of Dread for me.

That’s not to say that Dread is perfect, far from it. The EMMI’s are way too scripted and annoying, the music is bad, and ZDR as a whole lacks the presence of previous Metroid games, especially Prime. But the controls, level design, combat, story, and items are all fantastic.
 
AngryAlchemist said:
What games in the series have you played out of curiosity? I like that top 2
Click to expand...

Prime remastered (first time after being annoyed with wii on wii u), dread, samus returns, super, metroid, metroid 2, a bit of zero mission on gba but only to see how it looks on my gba sp from a few years ago. not played prime 2,3,fed force, pinball.
 
Of the games I've played, Super is by far the most captivating and the one I like to come back to. It's just a perfect game.
 
I think I equally like Metroid Dread / Metroid 3 / Metroid: Zero Mission. I also really really like Metroid Fusion. Metroid Prime was good, but I actually enjoyed Prime 3 more.
 
Metroid Prime, very closely followed by Super Metroid. Both are the platonic ideal of what a Metroid game should be, that every game since has failed to measure up to.
 
I adore the original, Fusion, Zero Mission, Dread and the Prime Trilogy, and am quite fond of Return Of Samus and Samus Returns, but for me Super Metroid has yet to be topped. I acknowledge the quality of life and control refinements subsequent games in the series have brought to the table but, for me, it hasn't been enough to surpass everything else Super has going for it.
 
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Currently its Metroid Dread. The gameplay in that game is amazing and the sheer control you have in Samus is great. Before that...Metroid: Zero Mission. Perhaps one of the best maps in the franchise. The sheer amount of sequence breaks you can do in that game is incredible, especially since nearly all of them are planned, as the 0% runs show us.

Funnily enough...I...don't care for Super Metroid and I think Zero Mission tops it in nearly every area. Really Zero Mission's big weakness is the fact that the GBA is a worse control format than the Super Nintendo and the added end portion should have been its own side thing then rather than tacked on at the end. I don't know, maybe its because I player Super Metroid last after everyone told me "It would blow me out of the water" because I was very underwhelmed by all of it.
 
For me it's close between Super and Prime, but ultimately I think I have to give it to Super. Honorable mentions to Zero Mission and Dread.

Shame that the true GOAT, Metroid Prime Pinball, was left out of this poll though
 
Yamanoi said:
Prime remastered (first time after being annoyed with wii on wii u), dread, samus returns, super, metroid, metroid 2, a bit of zero mission on gba but only to see how it looks on my gba sp from a few years ago. not played prime 2,3,fed force, pinball.
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Nice. Hope you enjoy Zero Mission. It's great!
 
Voted Prime 2 but tbh I don't really know lol. Would probably put Dread as my top 2D game but even then I could go with something different depending on the day.
 
Super Metroid is perfection and my second favorite video game ever. I’ve replayed it countless times and always find new things to appreciate. Metroid Prime is second place for me, it’s phenomenal and means so much to me.

Kind of want to rank them all at this point for fun so:

Super > Prime > Prime 3 > Prime 2 > Dread > Samus Returns > Zero Mission > Fusion > II > Hunters > Pinball > Metroid > Other M > Federation Force

Metroid II would be 6th if I did time and place. Only one I never beat was Federation Force. The controls are so bad.
 
I'd say Prime≥Super>Prime 2>Dread>Zero Mission>Samus Returns>Prime 3>Fusion>Federation Force>Other M.

Except for the last two of those, I would say all are great games as a baseline.
 
I have almost the exact same order @Phantom Thief , but take Samus Returns and bump it below Prime 3 and Fusion. I think it’s still a good game, but the worst of the good ones (FF and Other M are a serious drop below the rest).

On any given day I can swap Prime and Super as my favorite, and for whatever reason I’m feeling Super holding that position right now. But they’re both basically equal at the top for me.
 
My favorite is still my first, my introduction to the franchise, my original love: Metroid Fusion. I still remember being under the age of 10, at GameStop with my mom that day, seeing that loose GBA cart in the display case by the counter. I don't quite recall why I asked my mom for it, but I vaguely recall having seen the name "Metroid" somewhere, probably in a TV commercial.

When I played it, I was captivated by its creepy, darker tone, relative to the other stuff I was playing as a kid around then. I thought Samus was awesome, and I'm pretty sure my first death was how I found out she was a woman. Fusion was highly influential in formulating my taste, and it contributed to my later gravitation towards things like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. It was a beginner's step, so to speak. That's why my dream game is a full-on horror remake of Fusion, potentially even in a third-person 3D setting. That'd bring things full circle. It'll probably never happen, but it's fun to dream about.

I won't go too much into the rest of the series, since this thread is specifically about our number one faves, but some quick thoughts: OG Metroid 1 and 2 are a bit dated for my taste, but I respect what they did, nonetheless. Super and Prime feature the best music, lonely atmosphere, and overall essence of Metroid. Fusion features some of the best bosses, horror atmosphere, and my favorite depiction of Samus. Zero Mission is a phenomenal remake of Metroid 1, and its tight gameplay would later serve as the basis for AM2R (another impeccable title, don't care that it's fan made). Echoes is okay, I desperately need to replay it. Corruption was my first 3D Metroid, and there's lots to love about it, including its combat, the other hunters, Elysia, and so on. Samus Returns built up an extremely solid foundation for Dread, and Dread features easily the best gameplay across the entire series, no contest, in my opinion.

Hunters is dross (referring to the story mode, never got to try the MP, sadly), I haven't played more than five minutes of Pinball, never played Federation Force, and the less said about Other M, the better.
 
Dread > Zero Mission > Fusion > Samus Returns > Metroid > Return of Samus > Super > Other M

Cannot play the Prime games so they aren't up there.
 
I've only really played two (Metroid Prime Remastered and Metroid Dread, couldn't get into Super Metroid), but it's definitely Dread. Dread has the one thing Prime doesn't: good boss fights.
 
After playing prime remaster… it’s dread. Maybe super if I’m in the mood, but dread is more fun minute by minute. A first playthrough of super gives a bigger impression, but I’ve only gone back to it once and didn’t even finish the second time. Whereas I’ve beaten dread four or five times already, and I’m sure I’ll go back for more eventually. And prime just has too much GameCube jank in it. The visors are not fun to use and kinda hurt my eyes. Stuff like that.
 
Finishing Prime 2 for the first time right now and I'm pretty confident with a ranking of:

Super Metroid >= Metroid Prime > Metroid Dread >= Metroid Zero Mission > Metroid Fusion > Metroid Prime 2 > Samus Returns

It's honestly the 2D games that I'm a bit more mixed on, for my money Dread - Fusion are all about the same, with the biggest difference just being what they focus on or specialize at. Prime 2 is fantastic, at it's best it's just as good as Prime. But wow, that endgame is stinky!

Magic-Man said:
I've only really played two (Metroid Prime Remastered and Metroid Dread, couldn't get into Super Metroid), but it's definitely Dread. Dread has the one thing Prime doesn't: good boss fights.
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And Prime has the one thing Dread doesn't: Good music. That's supposed to be a joke but also kind of true.
 
Metroid Dread lowkey ruined other boss fights for me. Easily the best I've ever played (outside of one that's just annoying). Raven Beak, Kraid, and the Experiment are a one two three hit KO.
 
Echoes for me, I think it has the most interesting story/world/world building.
 
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Hard to say best. But here's how I'd sort of put em (only played the 2D ones to completion so far)

Best atmosphere-- Super Metroid
Best gameplay-- Dread

Low-key best in atmosphere and gameplay-- AM2R

More subjectively, Dread is my #1 because it's so freakin smoooooth. But I think AM2R is probably the best at all things Metroid is loved for-- great atmosphere in music and visuals, simple story with effective moments, good feeling controls and a fun world to explore.

Also, I think the best implementation of the main theme goes to Metroid on NES. That's probably as close to a perfect composition as you can get... It perfectly establishes the mood of the franchise in the least amount of notes possible. It uses space between sounds effectively. I think later iterations never quite get to that level of immediate atmosphere setting for me.

Anyway, what was my point? Idk, they all fucken rock
 
Magic-Man said:
Metroid Dread lowkey ruined other boss fights for me. Easily the best I've ever played (outside of one that's just annoying). Raven Beak, Kraid, and the Experiment are a one two three hit KO.
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They're so dang good. They make my meathead brain wish for a Metroid game comprised almost entirely of boss fights, in the same vein as Cuphead, Furi, or Shadow of the Colossus.
 
Metroid Prime 2 for me
-most challenging metroid game
-best boss fights
-best overall level design IMO
-great ammo system, makes all weapons balanced in boss fights but ammo is so abundant outside of them that you don't have to worry about running out (unless you spam missile combos like crazy)
-my favorite OST
-my favorite upgrades overall
-Luminoth are a cool new species

it's a more flawed game than super/prime 1 but what it does better than those games elevates it to the top for me. Super and prime are tied for a close 2nd place though.

Full list would be:
1. Prime 2
2-3. Super/Prime 1
GAP
4. Prime 3
5. Zero Mission
6. Dread
(Bonus: AM2R goes here)
7. Samus returns
GAP
8. Fusion
GAP
9. Other M

Not going to list the other games alongside them but hunters > the metroid mini game in nintendo land > federation force > pinball. Hunters and federation force vary with single/multiplayer.
 
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It’s pretty close between Prime and Super. Super is like a textbook example of a goated game really but Prime would have a slight edge for being a bit more memorable (3D, cooler areas, scan, etc)

Full rankings is something like:

Prime >= Super > Fusion >= Dread > Prime 3 > Prime 2 > Zero Mission >= Samus Returns > Other M
 
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Wait, we've forgotten the best Metroid game: Metroid Blast on Nintendo Land (I am only halfway joking, it's a really fun minigame).
 
I love Super Metroid, closely followed by Zero Mission and Fusion. I could probably choose a different favourite on any given day.

I’ve never been a fan of the 3D games, but I think that’s more just me, I prefer 2D games as I found the maps much harder to visualise in 3D and FPS combat doesn’t interest me at all. I waited a long time for Dread but the demo put me off, mainly down to the EMMI bits and the weird forced perspective stuff. Just felt restrictive for the sake of cinematics. It’s also at a point where there’s now stacks of 2D claustrophobic exploration games to play instead.
 
Voted for Super Metroid.
Zero Mission is also great.
Have yet to play Dread.
The lack of Metroid Pinball in the poll bothers me.
 
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So, so hard to pick. I love them all for different reasons. In the end for me it always comes down to Corruption vs Fusion though, but honestly I could make a case for almost any of them.
 
I havnt played every game in the franchise yet, so my pick cant be definite but from the ones I've played Metroid Dread is the clear cut best game for me.
Movement, combat, boss fights and a whole bunch of QoL that older Metroids doesnt have, which is a big reason as to why I think it's a better game than Super for instance.

Would love to play a Super that's been improved to modern standards in some ways though (dont hate me, I know many here think Super is perfect already :>)

Currently playing Prime for the first time though (or rather, first time I actually spent some quality time with it) and it's really good so far. Will see how I think of it in the end
 
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I have a preference for 2D Metroid, so that narrows down the list quite a bit. For me, it's between Zero Mission and Dread. I'm giving my vote to Zero Mission because it's a relatively short game I love to replay from time to time. The simplicity of the controls compared to Dread is also a plus in my opinion. I also love the soundtrack.
 
It's still Super Metroid, although Dread comes close.

I first played Super Metroid in 2014, 20 years after it released, and it was a revelation. It shoot up to being one of my favorite games in my favorite generation, and made me a Metroid fan.

I first played Metroid Prime in 2023, 20 years after it released, and I couldn't enjoy it nearly as much as I thought I would, I don't think it aged as well as Super did at all.
 
Magic-Man said:
Metroid Dread lowkey ruined other boss fights for me. Easily the best I've ever played (outside of one that's just annoying). Raven Beak, Kraid, and the Experiment are a one two three hit KO.
Click to expand...

I agree, I would say Metroid Dread has the best boss fight in all of gaming, maybe tied with Yoshi's Island, although those ones lose a few point for being too easy.
 
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I do not like to replay video games, but Super is the exception. It's timeless. Also within my top three games of all time if not the best of all time.
With that, Dread is fantastic and the music is vastly under rated.

Super > Dread > Prime > Zero Mission > everything else
 
0
Casually it's probably Dread. But Super takes the cake because I've spent over a thousand hours learning the speedrun and I'm still not bored of playing it every day. I'm also still not good at it lol
 
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Crap, voted Super, wanted to vote Prime.

Still, those two are very close in terms of quality. Prime was the game that sold me on the GameCube and it’s so, so good. Level design, enemy encounters, lore wise is absolutely top notch. Very few games can present the quality Prime has.

I played Super Metroid later on, but that game and its design is absolutely genius as well. Very few games are as impeccable as Super.

From what I have played;

Prime > Super > Prime 2 > Dread = Fusion > Corruption > Samus Returns > Other M

And no, I don’t dislike Other M as my fellow fans
 
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Super Metroid is the best Metroid game.

Metroid Dread is the best Metroid game.

(Metroid Prime is also great. But I beat Remastered last night and the final boss and artifact hunt were more tedious than I remembered from playing on GCN. I ought to replay 2 -- despite having bought Trilogy, I haven't given MP2 a go in nearly twenty years.)
 
Dread has the best gameplay for me but Super has better atmosphere and Prime 1 has the best music.
 
I think my favorite is actually Dread. Super and Prime are great but do suffer a bit from being older games. Prime has some long gaps between saves and the Artifact Hunt is tedious. Super can be a tad too obtuse at times and the controls are kind of clunky.

Dread is tough as nails but very forgiving with save points and it is just super fluid to control.
 
I think my order of "best" top 3 would be something like Super > Dread = Prime
My personal "favourite" list would be more like Dread > Super > Prime but I love them all in their own way
 
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